Arlington National Cemetery

Location: Northern Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.

Age: Established in 1864.

Size: Large - At 612 acres, Arlington is the second largest cemetery in the United States. Over 260,000 people are buried at Arlington Cemetery.

Vacancies: Yes, but strict guidelines limit who may be buried there.

History: Arlington National Cemetery is located on land that once belonged to John Parke Custis, Martha Washington's son. Robert E. Lee also lived on the land before it became a cemetery. It was established as a military cemetery in 1864 and is now a National Monument and the final resting place for many of America's bravest soldiers, leaders and their families. The Department of the Army now maintains the cemetery.

Famous Citizens: William Howard Taft, Former U.S. President
John F. Kennedy, Former U.S. President
Glenn Miller, Famous Band Leader
Joe Louis, Prizefighter
Virgil (Gus) Grissom, Astronaut{br] Robert Peary, Explorer
Matthew Henson, Explorer
Medgar Evers, Civil Rights Leader
Earl Warren, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Thurgood Marshall, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Dashiell Hammett, Mystery Writer
The remains of the seven Space Shuttle Challenger crewmembers.

Items of Interest: Tombs of the Unknown Soldiers, the Confederate Monument, the Space Shuttle Challenger Memorial, and the Custis-Lee mansion.

Contact: Memorial Drive
Arlington, VA 22211
Phone: (703) 607-8585

Website: www.arlingtoncemetery.org

Cemetery Profile: Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery

Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery

Location: St. Louis, Missouri

Age: Established in 1866

Size: 331 Acres
Vacancies: Yes

History: Jefferson Barracks was the army's first permanent base west of the Mississippi River and remains one of the National Cemetery Administrations oldest sites. There are graves that date from the Civil War to WWII. It became an official national cemetery in 1866. In 1869 the recovered remains of 10,200 soldiers previously buried elsewhere were moved to Jefferson Barracks, causing tremendous growth. The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.

Famous Citizens: Several notable Medal of Honor Burials
Soldiers from several wars

1,140 Confederate Soldiers

Samuel Marion Dennis, founder of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at the University of Arkansas

Items of Interest: The Carillon Bell Tower, U.S. Submarine Veteran’s Memorial, Memorial dedicated to the memory of Merchant Marine Seamen and Navy Armed Guard, Blue Star Memorial Marker, The Memorial Chapel, a memorial for women who aided during the civil war, The Fort Bellefontaine Monument, and several other memorials for unknowns and war heros.

Contact: 2900 Sheridan Road
St. Louis, MO 63125
Phone: (314) 260-8691 or 260-8692

Website: http://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/jeffersonbarracks.asp